Commute patterns and depression: Evidence from eleven Latin American cities

Abstract

IntroductionAlthough travel behavior is expected to influence personal health, few studies have examined associations with mental health. This study examines associations between commute patterns and mental health using survey data in 11 Latin American cities.MethodsUsing a survey conducted by the Development Bank of Latin America in 2016, we measured the presence of depressive symptoms using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD-10) screening scale. We used multilevel non-linear models to estimate the magnitude of the associations between commute patterns and depression risk, adjusting for socio-demographic and neighborhood characteristics.ResultsWe found that, on average, every 10 more minutes of commuting time is associated with 0.5% (p = 0.011) higher probability of screening positively for depression. Furthermore, when decomposing commuting time into free-flow time and delay time, we found that delay and not free-flow time, were associated with depression. Specifically, every 10 additional minutes of traffic delay is associated with 0.8% (p = 0.037) higher probability of screening positively for depression. When examining differences by travel mode, we find that users of formal transit (e.g. subway or bus rapid transit) are 4.8% (p = 0.040) less likely to be screened positively for depression than drivers. In addition, not having transit stops within a 10-min walk from home is associated with higher probability of screening positively for depression.ConclusionsOur findings provide preliminary evidence that better access to mass transit systems and less congestion may be linked to better mental health among urban residents.

Active Commuting and Depression Symptoms in Adults: A Systematic Review

“…The lack of a significant relationship between active commuting and depression symptoms in these articles are in agreement with previous studies among men and women, which showed that walking distance was not related to depression symptoms [32][33][34]. For those who use an active mode of transportation, transit connectivity matters more for mental health than active travel [26,34]. Furthermore, there is a difference between walking and cycling as a mode of active transportation.…”

“…Cross-sectional evidence from two studies showed that the association between active commuting and depression is not consistent. In one study, performed among Latin American adults, it was found that non-motorised modes of travel were not associated with depression [26]. On the other hand, a study among African-American adults reported that, while women who reported walking often presented a lower probability for depressive symptoms than women who reported never walking, the same pattern was not observed in men [23].…”

“…Among adults, there is evidence that leisure-time PA is more related to mental health problems, and specifically to depression, than other forms of PA [28][29][30]. In five out of seven articles, a significant relationship between active commuting and depression symptoms was not found [21][22][23][24]26]. Cross-sectional evidence from two studies showed that the association between active commuting and depression is not consistent.…”

“…Measures of active commuting widely varied from study to study, although all were self-reported. Some studies focused on volume [20,21,24], others on frequency [22,23]; one study focused only on the mode of commuting [26] and another one examined the transition from non-active commuting to active commuting [25]. The type of active commuting also differed among studies.…”

“…The most recent study examined the cross-sectional associations between commute patterns and mental health in 5438 adults using survey data from 11 Latin American cities [26]. Commuting was self-reported, and depression was measured using the CES-D scale.…”